One Last Hope
by Kylie Dilston
Summary: Weird dreams aren't the half of it... Complete!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it… sadly…

Author's Note: (7/27/05) My writing style has changed quite a bit in the four years since I first wrote this story – I'd like to think that I've improved a little as well, but the jury's still out on that one. Either way, when I read it again a couple months ago, I spent more time hiding behind the hands covering my face than I did actually reading it. Despite the good reviews I received four years ago, it just wasn't up to my standards anymore. So yesterday I sat down and started re-writing it from the beginning. Now that it's finished, the sequel to this story (The 13th Floor) is next on the chopping block. There weren't any major plot changes – I mainly focused on the words themselves. I hope this one reads a little better than it used to! As always, please read & review… it's what keeps me going!

P.S. Since there was no way to post multiple chapters when this was first submitted (yep, I've been around **that** long. Scary, isn't it?) the chapters were all rather short and read together on a single page. Thanks to modern technology, the chapters have now been split up. I do apologize for the shortness, though… ;-)

* * *

** Prologue **

The wind rustled loudly through the trees as the cool autumn air traveled down from the mountains above. Fiona Phillips inhaled deeply, catching the faint aroma of smoke from a nearby fire. She scuffed her shoe in the dirt and a pebble tumbled forward.

With a sigh, Fi pushed her hands further into the pockets of her black leather jacket, searching for the elusive warmth which had long since escaped her fingers.

At the sound of movement behind her she stiffened, standing quiet and motionless. For a moment, the only noise to be heard was the wind as it rolled past, tousling her long brown hair.

A sense of déjà vu washed over her and for an instant she could remember every other time she'd dreamed this same setting. For an instant, she remembered the evil that was about to threaten her...

And then it was gone. The time for it to happen was past, and this was an entirely different dream.

"I see you made it," a male voice called from behind her.

A smile crept across her features as she turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Daddy!" Fi threw her arms around him. "Is that really you? Or am I dreaming?"

"Yes, on both counts," Rick Phillips returned her embrace. "Listen sweetie, I don't have much time left. I can only stay another moment or so before they become suspicious."

"Before who becomes suspicious?" Fi loosened her grip and took a step back.

He ignored the question. "I came here to warn you, sweetie. I wanted to let you know that soon something will happen that will forever change your life."

"What are you talking about Daddy?" Fi gave him a confused look. She wondered what could possibly happen that would change her life so drastically.

"It's something of a long story and I'm really not the best person to explain it all to you now," he said. "But understand that although it might seem like a change for the worse at first, this will only help you later on."

"I don't understand…"

"And I don't expect you to right now. But you have to believe me when I tell you that this is for the best."

Rick tore his gaze from his daughter and turned it skyward. His carefree expression swiftly changed to one of concern. "I have to go," he hugged her again quickly. "Give your brother and your mother my love!"

"Daddy, no! Wait!" Fi reached out towards his hurriedly retreating figure. "Daddy!"

* * *

Carey stumbled tiredly towards Fi's bed. She had been calling out to her father in her sleep, the sound reverberating throughout the bus until it finally woke him. The 'rents were staying in a Bed and Breakfast tonight, leaving only the boys and Fiona to camp out on the bus. 

When they arrived earlier that day the four rooms they were supposed to have booked turned out to be a meager two, leaving the kids with bus duty.

Jack and Clu, being heavy sleepers had continued to snore their way through Fiona's shouts, leaving only him to go and check on her.

_ 'Must be another nightmare'_, he thought. This was certainly not the first time Carey had been forced to rescue her from the perils of sleep. Matter of fact, it was becoming a frequent occurrence. This was the third time this week and it was only Wednesday.

He opened the door slowly, not bothering to knock. She wouldn't have heard it anyway.

As his gaze fell upon Fiona, a dull light caught his eye. In the dark he could see something glowing blue on her hand. As he walked closer to her bed, he realized that the source of the light was her thumb ring.

"That's strange," he mumbled, looking around for anything blue that might have been just reflecting off the metal. Nothing.

"Daddy…" she whimpered.

Ignoring the light for a moment, he knelt quietly by the side of her bed and looked down upon her tear streaked face. He felt a surge of pity well up within him. '_Poor girl_,' he thought, It must have been horrible growing up without ever really knowing her father.

"Fi...Fi wake up," Carey shook her gently, "You're dreaming..."

Fi's eyes slowly fluttered open and looked around, her brown eyes eventually landing on Carey. She sat up quickly and threw her arms around him, bursting into tears.

"Shh...It's okay Fi, it was only a dream," Carey hugged her tightly and rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her.

"I – I saw," Fi forced the words out between sobs.

"What? What did you see?" Carey asked quietly as he pulled back from the embrace.

This was certainly a change. Every other time, Fi hadn't been able to remember anything from her dreams.

"I saw.. my father," Fi managed, slowly gaining control over her emotions. "He told me that... that something was going to happen that would change my life forever... then he was gone."

She wiped the tears from her eyes, suddenly feeling foolish about the waterworks.

"It was only a dream Fi, nothing to worry about," Carey sent her a reassuring smile.

"No, it wasn't just a dream!" at Carey's strange look, she fought to explain. "I know it sounds crazy, but I could smell smoke! I felt the wind and the cold."

At the thought of the cold, she instinctively wrung her hands to bring back the warmth. An idea made it's way through her sleep muddled mind and she reached out to grab Carey's bare forearm.

Carey inhaled sharply and pulled back his arm from her freezing hands, "Woah, man, you weren't kidding about feeling the cold were you?"

He looked down at her bed. A sheet, a heavy quilt and another blanket on top of that.

It was the middle of November and almost thirty degrees outside, so the heater was on high. And with that heater even low was enough to sweat you out of the bus, so if anything she should have been hot, not cold.

Fiona's yawn dragged him back to reality.

"It's only two-thirty and we have a long day ahead of us," Carey pulled the blankets up as Fi laid back down, tucking her in. "Might as well try to get some sleep."

Fi watched as Carey turned to go, "Um...Carey?"

"Yeah Fi?"

"Would you mind...uh...staying with me a little while?" Fi asked quietly, not managing to look him in the eye.

Carey looked back at her and smiled to himself.

"Just until I fall asleep," she finished quickly. She glanced back up at him and Carey hid his smile.

"Sure, no problem," he sat on the edge of her bed and leaned against the wall.

"Oh, and Carey?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't tell Jack or my Mom about the dream... It was probably nothing and I really don't want to upset them," Fi asked.

"Consider it our little secret," he said.

Fiona closed her eyes and smiled, slowly drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it… sadly…

* * *

** Chapter One **

Clu climbed slowly out of bed and stretched. Through his half open gaze, he noticed that the piles of blankets on Carey's bed were missing something… namely Carey. With a quick glance, he found Jack to be still in bed and asleep.

He wandered out into the kitchen area in search of his brother, arching an eyebrow when he found the area empty. Turning around, he approached a different door and then knocked softly enough for someone to hear, but not wake them up if they were still sleeping.

Clu slowly pushed the door open.

"Hey Fi, have you seen – ," Clu didn't finish his sentence, he'd found his brother.

In the night Fi and Carey had shifted positions, now Fi was asleep in Carey's arms.

The sound caused Carey to stir slightly and he opened his eyes to find his brother standing a few feet away, a bemused look on his face. Carey looked down and realized how the scene must have looked. He rolled his eyes and gently moved Fiona, then stood up and followed his brother out of Fi's room.

By the time they made it to the kitchen, Clu was barely able to contain himself.

"What was that, bro?" He asked with a sneaky grin.

Carey sighed, "Fi had a bad dream and wanted me to stay until she fell asleep. I guess I fell asleep too."

"Riiiight," Clu said, still not quite believing him. He made a mental note to talk to Fi about that later.

"OWWWW!" Fi's yell echoed throughout the bus.

Carey and Clu looked at each other then bolted in the direction of Fi's room. Jack beat them to it and flung open the door, Carey and Clu right behind him.

"Fi! What's wrong!" Jack's disheveled figure knelt beside his little sister, concern filling his expression.

Fi was holding the palm of her right hand, a large red mark circling the base of her thumb. Carey recognized it as the finger she wore her fathers ring on.

"My ring..." she stammered. "It was burning me.."

Jack followed Fi's gaze and saw the ring, lying on the floor, burning a bright red color. He bent over to pick it up, but after feeling the warmth and watching as the carpet beneath began to turn black, he thought the better of it.

"Clu! Get some water or something to cool it off!" Jack ordered. Clu ran out of the room.

"That's too weird," Carey moved closer to Fi and gently took her hand. "Are you okay? How badly did it burn you?"

Fi cringed a little at the pain and tried to answer, "I dunno. Pretty bad I'm guessing."

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get the first aid kit," Jack walked briskly towards the kitchen, nearly colliding with Clu as he came running back into the room with a glass full of water. As he poured the water over the metal ring, a small wisp of steam flowed up from it. The red glow faded and Clu hesitantly reached for it.

He picked it up, it was still a little warm, but at least it wasn't as hot as before. He turned it over in his palm, curious as to how it could have gotten that way. The room's heater wasn't near her bed, and from what he could see, there was nothing around that could have gotten it that hot.

Jack walked back in and started tending to Fi's finger.

"Ouch! Careful with that stuff, Jack. It stings," Fiona looked over to the side, closing her eyes with a cringe as her brother rubbed on the cream.

"What the heck were you doing that made the ring so hot?" Jack asked.

"What do you mean, 'What was I doing'? I was sleeping," Fi yelped in pain once more. "I wasn't doing anything."

Jack stopped, giving her a disbelieving look. "Whatever. Just don't do it again okay? I still can't believe you did something stupid enough to cause this," he indicated her finger.

"But-" Fi started.

Jack cut her off, holding up a hand to silence her. "I don't want to hear it Fi," he frowned, put the cream and extra bandages back into the case, then left the room.

"But I didn't-" Fi looked once more on the verge of tears.

Clu shook his head and followed Jack out, setting the ring back on her desk as he went.

"You believe me, don't you Carey?" She looked up at him, hopeful.

A memory of the night before flashed through Carey's mind, the ring glowing a bright blue. But it hadn't burned her then. How come?

"Actually, yeah. I do. Last night, when I came to wake you up I noticed that your ring was glowing, but I'd just figured something had been reflecting off of it. It was blue though, not red," he sat in her desk chair across from her.

"Right, my dream," Fi's expression became unreadable. "Almost forgot about that."

Carey picked up Fi's ring from where it lay on the desk next to him, eyeing it curiously.

It seemed like an ordinary ring, the only thing abnormal about it was the engraving. He held it out to Fi who took it a little hesitantly.

Out of habit, she started to put it back on her right thumb, then stopped with a grimace. As she put it on her left thumb, a flash of light burst from the ring, enveloping her within it.

"Fi!" Carey shouted, reaching out to grab her wrist.

The light filled the room and when it faded a moment later, both Fi and Carey had disappeared.


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it… sadly…

* * *

** Chapter Two **

Fiona and Carey landed hard on their backs.

"Uugh..." Carey rolled onto his side.

"Where are we?" Fi sat up, putting a hand to her head. She blinked as if to make sure she was truly seeing what she thought she was. It was pitch black, yet she could see herself and Carey clearly.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Carey mumbled, still trying to regain his senses. "This place.. it's almost like we're floating in space."

"Since when does space have a hard floor to land on? And oxygen?"

"Good point," he staggered to his feet.

"Well hello, Little Duck!" the disembodied voice echoed throughout the space around them.

It took a moment, but the familiarity of the nickname soon brought the unpleasant memories to the surface. She spun around, looking for the source of the voice. "Alright, Bricriu. What did you do this time? Why did you bring us here?"

A human figure appeared, walking from the shadows into the light. He was a short man with fiery red hair and freckles, clad in vintage clothing that might have been worn by an Irish peasant long ago. The man walked forward and stopped a few feet away.

"It sure took ye long enough to get here Little Duck," the man smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.

"Is that you, Bricriu?" Fi looked the man over, disbelief apparent in her expression. The ball of light with an Irish accent she could handle, but to see him as a human felt surreal.

"Aye. 'Tis," he smiled wider this time, then held out his arms in a showy manner. "Like the look? I'm quite fond if it me'self."

"Wait, you know this guy?" Carey had finally brought himself to his feet and was giving the both of them a strange look.

"Yeah," Fi frowned. "Unfortunately."

"Sorry, lass. No time for small talk," Bricriu interrupted.

"Where are we and why did you bring us here?" asked Fi.

"I didn't bring ye here Little Duck," Bricriu walked closer, his arms folded behind his back.

"Well then who did?" Carey asked

Bricriu turned towards Carey as if seeing him for the first time, "Aah...'tis your friend Carey Bell. If I'm not me'staken."

"How did you-" Carey started.

"Your ring m'dear," he continued, ignoring Carey's inquiry. " 'tis that which brought you here, I had none ta' do with it. I'm merely your welcome party."

"My ring?" she echoed, turning her attention to her left thumb where it now resided. "But how?"

"I see you've hurt your hand m'dear," Bricriu reached for her right hand to closer inspect the wound, "From your ring I s'pose."

Fi narrowed her eyes at him. "Would you please stop rambling and start making sense?"

"Ye had it on the wrong hand, Little Duck," he smiled. "The only way you could make full use of your power is ta' have it on the thumb of your _left_ hand."

"Power? What in the world are you talking about?"

"My dear, dear, Fiona," Bricriu laughed. "Ye may be beautiful, but you're not too bright are ye?"

Fiona frowned. Exactly which part of this was supposed to be making sense?

"Did your Da' not tell ye last nite like'n he was s'pposed to?" he sighed. "We need you m'dear. You are the power of good's one last hope in the mortal world."

"Since when have you ever been one of the good guy's, Bricriu?" Fi narrowed her eyes.

"I always 'ave been! Ye foolish mortals and your legends always make us Spunkies out ta' be the bad guy's! If ye'd been payin' attention ye would have noticed that even though we are a tad mischievous from time ta' time, we do have a good heart deep down! Besides, we only cause trouble ta' keep our marks from getting inta' even _bigger_ trouble."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Fi argued.

"If we Spunkies weren't around ta' do our jobs, there would be a _lot_ more problems in this fine world, believe me."

Bricriu began to pace. "Up until now the spirits and entities you've encountered have been nothing. The lowest powers on the scale. But the forces of evil in the spirit world, they've realized how important ye are child. From now on you're... how do ye humans say?... In the big leagues now," he said. "In order ta' give ye a fightin' chance, the empress herself has granted ye, a mortal, powers. Consider it a gift! Someday it could save your life."

Fi looked downward attempting to process this new bit of information.

Bricriu turned his attention to Carey, "They warned me that ye might follow the lass here."

Carey eyed Bricriu warily.

"I sense yer doubts lad, but they aren't well founded. While I mighta' caused some trouble for Fiona in the past, I can assure ye it was only ta' protect her," Bricriu explained.

Carey's gaze softened slightly, but his distrust was still obvious

"Aye, they warned me," Bricriu nodded. "And I was told that you would be the one ta' help keep her safe until she was needed."

"Keep her safe?"

"Aye. In a sense, you'll be her guardian. "'Tis your duty though, lad, ta' help her along while she's learnin'."

"How can I help her if I don't know what it is she's supposed to learn?"

Bricriu rolled his eyes, "Listen, lad, you're supposed ta' protect her not be her bloody tutor. No matter what trouble the lass finds herself in, it will be your job ta' bail her out! Her powers won't affect ye unless she intends for them to, so you'll always be able ta' help Fi clean up after the mess she makes. And trust me, beginners are always a findin' themselves in trouble."

Carey and Fi exchanged a slightly confused glance.

"So lemme get this straight," Fi started, attempting to sort out this new information. "I've got special powers, because some emperor – "

"Emp_ress_," Bricriu corrected.

"Some empress thought I could help her fight for the side of good."

"Right."

"My powers don't affect Carey."

"Right."

"And he's supposed to protect me?"

"Right."

"You do realize how crazy all this sounds, don't you?"

Carey cleared his throat. "Uhm, Fi? Generally speaking I'm usually pretty skeptical about this kind of stuff… but considering the fact that we just disappeared in a flash of light, got sucked inside some other dimension, and are talking to a four foot tall Irish guy… exactly where do we draw the line to say what's crazy?"

Fi was quiet a moment. "Good point."

"We don't have much longer now, Little Duck so here's the last of it. I'll check in with ye from time ta' time in order ta' make sure you're doin' alright, but ye ought ta' know that there's something of a 'hand's off' rule regarding beginners. I can give ye suggestions, but I can't help ye in any other way. That's what Carey's for… But before I go, did ye 'ave any questions?"

"Just one," she said. "Why my left hand?

"Aye… long story. Has ta' do with the fact that you're a lass, and the _left_ side of your body is more powerful than yer right. For men it's the opposite. I could explain, but it would take too long. Look it up yourself, ye seem to be good at that," Bricriu turned his gaze skyward in the same manner as her father had the night before. "They've found us. We're out of time lass! Remember what I've told ya'! So long for now!"

The light which had once illuminated Carey and Fiona began to fade. Fi reached for Carey's hand before the light was gone, realizing that it was how he had made it there in the first place, and the two soon felt themselves falling once again.


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it… sadly…

* * *

** Chapter Three **

Jack slouched down in his chair, raking his fingers through his hair. That was certainly _one_ way to start the morning off. He had nearly jumped out of his skin when Fi yelled. What he couldn't figure out though, was how she managed to make her ring so hot.

Clu wandered into the room.

"I just don't get it, man," Jack fiddled with a pencil that sat on the table in front of him. "It's totally unlike Fi to do something that," he searched for the right word, "well, dumb."

"I dunno, Jack," Clu frowned. "Carey and I had been in there only a couple of minutes before it happened and she was still asleep."

Jack shook his head slowly, as if trying to push the thought from his mind.

The brief silence was interrupted by the creaking of the bus door and Molly stepping into the living area.

"Hey, guys!" Molly smiled.

"Hey, Mrs. P," Clu greeted quietly. Jack waved unenthusiastically.

"What's the matter?" Molly asked, crossing her arms.

"It's Fi," Jack answered. "She burnt herself with her ring."

"What! Is she okay? Why didn't someone come and get me?"

"She's fine Mrs. P! It really wasn't that bad, Jack took care of it," Clu said in an attempt to calm her.

"You sure it wasn't that bad?" Molly questioned.

"Positive," Clu answered.

"Well, okay. I just came to tell you guys that they have pancakes in the kitchen if you want some breakfast," Molly smiled at her son and walked off the bus heading back towards the house.

Clu's expression did a one-eighty, "Pancakes! Awesome!"

"You go on," said Jack. "I'll tell Fi and Carey."

Clu literally ran off of the bus in the direction Molly had disappeared.

Jack rolled his eyes and headed towards the room he shared with Clu and Carey. He opened the door and looked in. Empty.

"Must be in Fi's room still," he thought.

He knocked softly then pushed open the door.

"Strange," Jack arched a brow. "Where could they have gone? They would have passed me if they had gone off the bus."

Jack walked out of Fi's room and shut the door behind him, a perplexed look on his face.

* * *

Anticipating the fall this time, Fi was able to manage a more graceful landing than her last. Not that their landing wasn't soft already. They had been dropped directly above Fi's bed.

At the noise, Jack, who had just left the room, turned around and walked back in.

Fi looked up and gave a fake smile, tipping off her brother that something wasn't right. "Oh! Umm…Hi, Jack."

"Wait-, how-," Jack struggled to put a sentence together. "Where were you two?"

"We've been here the whole time, Jack. What are you talking about?" Carey covered, doing a much better job than Fi at playing it cool.

"Uh...right. I was just coming to tell you guys that they're serving pancakes in the B 'n B kitchen," Jack looked suspiciously around the room as he talked.

"Sounds great, we'll be there in a few," Carey smiled.

"Okay, see you guys..." Jack wandered out of the room, trying his hardest to explain their sudden appearance.

"Maybe Bricriu was right about you being the one to keep me out of trouble, Carey," Fiona laughed. She stood up and moved towards the door.

"Guess so," Carey followed her lead.

Fi paused, resting her hand on the doorknob, its cool metal reminding her of the cold she had felt in her dream. She nodded to him then smiled. "Remember my dream?"

"Mm-hmm," Carey answered. "You saw your dad-"

Fi interrupted him, "-and he told me that my life was about to change."

Neither one spoke for a moment, then Fiona smiled, "It was nice seeing him again."

Carey put his arm around her shoulders and the two walked out of the room.


End file.
